CHAPTER 26 - Scallywags
"Last I remember, you were in cohorts with Trafalgar and Roronoa, on Gecko Moria's ship. Where are they?" Jack demanded.
"Can't say." replied Tomioka.
Jack slammed his leg on the ground, shaking the area.
Uzui was surprised by the shock wave.
"This is the worst case." Tomioka whispered, "Law wouldn't want to hear this."
"What are you blabbing, swordsman? You wanna speak of Trafalgar, you speak to me where he is."
"I doubt you pirates have a sense of honour or conduct, but we follow some rules here. We know better than to sell out our friends." Tomioka said.
"Don't patronize me, boy!" Jack was losing his cool, "I know those bastards are out there. But instead, I'll crush the both of you right here. That should draw them out in the open."
Tomioka and Uzui braced with their blades.
"You should've wished to have never been born. I'll wreck this land like I crushed that Mink kingdom to the ground."
Jack got serious, and Tomioka knew it the moment the former began to change in size. Uzui was astounded to observe Jack shape-shifting like a Demon. But he knew they were facing something worse.
"We need to take him down fast." Tomioka mentioned.
"I know. This fellow is trouble the moment he appeared." Uzui said, looking behind, "Master Kuwajima, you ready?"
The old man replied drawing his blade.
Jack slammed his heavy mammoth limbs pounding into the ground, followed with an unexpected dash of super speed, in contrast to his enormous mammoth size.
"Fourth Form…" Uzui took the vanguard. He clashed head-on against Jack's tusks with his spinning dual blades.
"The strength!" he groaned holding the enemy but only by a hair.
He began to realise it wasn't the wisest move confronting Jack up front, especially with his explosives he had dropped with his Fourth Form technique. Uzui knew it wasn't the best case scenario should his bombs go off next to him.
Explosions shook the battle, throwing off Uzui in a hurl.
"Stupid bombs!" Jack bellowed, annoyed from the cacophony. The surprise did little damage but acted as a better decoy.
"Waterfall Basin!" Tomioka dived in from above under the moonlight.
Jack managed to sense the attack whilst his delirious ordeal, blocking it with his sturdy tusks. Tomioka continued to enforce against Jack, making a small impact crater on the ground from his vertical impact.
"Not bad." remarked Jack, glaring upon Tomioka's blue eyes.
Jack began to nullify the force bringing Tomioka to a standstill above his tusks.
"Now, you die." The former prepared to slam Tomioka into the ground before he could've escaped.
Despite Jack's continued glare, Tomioka made a sudden realisation that his enemy had stopped on his tracks. The latter escaped from the opportunity. As he leaped, he discovered Master Kuwajima behind Jack, holding his blade to his front. Little he could have fathomed at that short moment.
Five lightning strikes shook Jack off his stance from the blade of the old Thunder Pillar.
"Rice Spirit…" muttered Kuwajima's faint voice.
Tomioka recognised the move. It was the Second Form of the Thunder Breathing.
Uzui showed himself bruised but capable to resume.
"That is a monster." He looked worked-up.
"His tusks are a big problem. My blades couldn't make a dent on it." Tomioka said.
"Neither could mine, and we cannot afford to get hit. I took some direct damage despite my defense. I liked it better when he was in normal form."
"I doubt he'll go down anytime soon. That was a direct hit he took from a veteran Thunder Hashira and yet the attack made no significant dent."
Indeed, Master Kuwajima's attack did little to stun the enemy except helping Tomioka survive a fatal blow. Jack returned back, furious as ever. But to everyone's surprise, he decided to retract back to his normal form.
"I just figured you'd jump on my rear and start hauling those puny swords of yours." he said, getting hold of his tusks, "Guess what, since you want to play with blades, I shall hack you up like little worms."
Jack drew out his curved blades from his tusks. He turned around and looked at his crew members.
"None of you maggots dare step in. They are mine!"
"Yes, Captain!" bellowed the rest.
Suma had rushed outside. Law looked at her in alarm.
"Why has the train stopped?" he asked, getting up.
"I don't know, but we are yet another hour away from our destination." Suma replied, "This might not be good."
"Agreed." Law looked around and observed that they were inside a forest dimmed from sunlight.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"Makio is inside. Hinatsuru has gone ahead to check the situation."
"Okay, I shall check things out. Don't let the passengers out of the car."
Suma nodded as Law got off the train dashing for the front. Makio and the passengers observed him outside and wondered about the situation.
"What's going on?" Makio asked finding Suma inside.
"He's going ahead to check things out front. We need to be cautious while we wait." Suma replied.
"What about the passengers?"
"They can't leave for the outside. The forest cover shrouds the sunlight and it can get dangerous."
"Why have we stopped?" Law asked, having met up with Hinatsuru by the engine.
"The road's blocked ahead." replied the engine driver, "It must've been either a big storm or something weird."
Law observed the mess in front of them. A bunch of fallen big trees blocked their way.
"The driver mentions he's sending out an assistant to find some help to clear the railway. There seems to be a village beyond the woods." Hinatsuru mentioned.
"That'll take a while. And we can't afford to wait till sunset." Law said. He was chafed.
Hinatsuru understood his vexation realising it'll be a much difficult task to handle demons with civilians around to protect.
"Keep surveillance from above the train." Law told her, "I'll check the block situation."
Hinatsuru nodded, jumping above the first train car. The engine driver observed in awe.
"Is she a kunoichi? Very surprising." he mentioned.
"Driver, don't send your man for help, okay? We don't want to run late." Law warned. He walked ahead leaving the driver perplexed to his demand.
Law realised the moment he saw the fallen trees up close that the lumber job was the work of something bestial. Strong claw and bite marks, some of them sharper than the others and yet none of them resembled that of animals that he had known.
"This is more than a coincidence." Law remembered his ordeal from Tokyo.
"Room!" The spatial membrane spread out to cover up the blockade ahead of him.
"What the…" He felt a small, hostile presence inside his Room, and heading for him at high speed. He slashed his sword, cutting up all the fallen trees in two. He found the sinister Demon amidst the wood, the latter surprised and terrified.
The show wasn't over.
Law's Observation Haki turned his attention behind. He directed his blade to defend himself. He discovered a pale-looking fellow with black spots on his face rushing in, clashing claws against Law's blade at full force. Law realised that the former Demon was a decoy for the latter; a much stronger Demon oozing with Demonic energy. A Demon Moon as Law estimated from the strength.
The claw tried to break through Law's sword but the enemy decided to break off the clash after realising a delayed and futile attempt.
"You are good. Very fast." the Demon grinned, "But it's not me that you've to worry."
Law knew what he meant the moment he felt his Observation Haki alarm with a jolt. He turned back and found another hostility leaping in from the sky.
"That Wara… lady!" he exclaimed, blocking Daki's claw attack.
"Brother!" Daki bellowed.
"Right." The other Demon leaped at the chance Law was caught up from Daki's attack.
"Shambles!"
Law managed to pull a last-minute flip, swapping himself for Daki, who took the strike from the other Demon's claws. Daki yelled from the pain being stabbed instead of Law, who was behind them, ready to hack with his blade.
"Radio Knife!"
With swift action, the two Demons were hacked into pieces. Daki had known of Law's crafty manoeuvre but her companion was completely taken by surprise.
"What the hell!" he bellowed, looking at his hacked-up body mixed with his companion's.
The engine driver and Hinatsuru observed in horror.
"Start the engines!" Law bellowed for the driver.
"Right but…"
"Shambles." Law moved the cut down trees from the railroad.
"Right." The driver, though stupefied from the sorcery, jumped into the train and pulled the levers. The loud horn blared for departure.
Hinatsuru couldn't believe that the Pirate Captain took down two Demon Moons, whereas she felt afflicted with the fact that herself, Makio, and Suma had to struggle with one.
"What's going on? I can't move!" screeched Daki.
"You bastard! What did you do?" yelled the other.
"Tell your leader to see me himself if he would dare." retorted Law, "A coward hiding behind his cronies. And a coward isn't worth my time."
The train began to move. The defeated enemies observed back mortified, as Law caught hold of the moving first car. Hinatsuru decided to head below but instead observed Law holding his blade high as he bid his enemies adieu. She remembered Law creating a weird field that had swapped the blocking lumber with some sort of sorcery. Her thought was broken when Law slashed his blade. The action hacked the top cover off the trees letting in sharp sunlight from the early afternoon into a patch of forest that had seen almost no sunlight for a long time. Hinatsuru observed in shock, so did the passengers from the cars behind them, especially, Makio and Suma. The hacked Demons began to wail in agony as the sun began to melt them away.
"Roronoa Zoro!"
The group at Takeshi's Castle was taken by surprise.
"A Demon?" Kanao wondered drawing her Nichirin blade.
They observed a bat-looking being hovering above.
"No, I don't sense any Demonic energy from that thing." Shinobu mentioned, observing the hovering silhouette in the sky.
An arrow came flying in. Zoro blocked the shot with his Kitetsu.
"It's a man." he remarked, sensing with his Observation Haki.
"It seems you have defeated Hawkins, a Headliner. Very impressive work." said the bat-man, "I am Batman from the Beast Pirates. You shouldn't have escaped from the brig, Pirate Hunter."
"Bird Dance!" Zoro swiped his Kitetsu upwards, sending a Flying-blade right past the flying enemy.
"What the…" Batman startled.
"Go tell that to your boss. I have no interest in a lackey." retorted Zoro.
"That won't be necessary." Despite Zoro's deliberate warning attack, Batman got riddled with shots from behind.
"Bullet String!"
The group below observed a figure above Batman, as the latter tumbled to the ground.
"What was that?" Kanae wondered.
"We meet again, Roronoa Zoro." the figure came stepping in forward.
"This is not good." Zoro told the others.
"Enough with the chitchat." said the man, releasing a burst of aura that shook the area. Kanao was terrified falling onto one of her knees. Shinobu and Kanae observed in shock, the former's blade trembled. Zoro was forced to draw out his Shusui in response, taking an offensive stance.
"That's the Conqueror's Haki." Shinobu realised, shivering.
"Don't let your guard down. That man is a serious threat." Zoro replied.
"I heard you showed up out here with Law. Tell me where he is." the man demanded with a devious grin.
"Doflamingo, the former Warlord. This ain't Dressrosa, and you are no king."
The man's brows twitched with his nerves bellowing wrath. Zoro realised there was no way out of the situation.
Shockwaves spread. Pirate Hunter Zoro and Donquixote Doflamingo clashed head-on.
TO BE CONTINUED...